Summer music shows to see in Chicago

CaptionPeter Brotzmann

Thanks to drummer-impresario Mike Reed's remarkable new venue, the most innovative musicians in Chicago -- and from around the world -- now have a place where they can play in prime time. Exhibit A is explosive reedist Brotzmann, who will give Constellation one of its most anticipated bookings...

Thanks to drummer-impresario Mike Reed's remarkable new venue, the most innovative musicians in Chicago -- and from around the world -- now have a place where they can play in prime time. Exhibit A is explosive reedist Brotzmann, who will give Constellation one of its most anticipated bookings...

This companion to the Downtown Sound series focuses on more nonmainstream fare, including electronic composers Matmos (June 27) and Dan Deacon (July 11), and a great avant-classical combo of eighth blackbird and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche (Aug. 28). 6:30 p.m. June 13, 27, July 4, 11, 18 and Aug...

This companion to the Downtown Sound series focuses on more nonmainstream fare, including electronic composers Matmos (June 27) and Dan Deacon (July 11), and a great avant-classical combo of eighth blackbird and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche (Aug. 28). 6:30 p.m. June 13, 27, July 4, 11, 18 and Aug...

Seventy-five years ago, clarinet virtuoso Benny Goodman shook up the music world with a historic concert at Carnegie Hall, bringing jazz into a bastion of "highbrow" art. That same year, he also made his debut at the Ravinia Festival, similarly redefining the kind of music that the North Shore...

Seventy-five years ago, clarinet virtuoso Benny Goodman shook up the music world with a historic concert at Carnegie Hall, bringing jazz into a bastion of "highbrow" art. That same year, he also made his debut at the Ravinia Festival, similarly redefining the kind of music that the North Shore...

This boasts a better lineup than the more highly hyped Electric Daisy Carnival, which recently played the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. Bassnectar and Moby are DJs who evoke the more adventurous spirit of electronic music's first wave, and the festival will also represent a big steppingstone...

This boasts a better lineup than the more highly hyped Electric Daisy Carnival, which recently played the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. Bassnectar and Moby are DJs who evoke the more adventurous spirit of electronic music's first wave, and the festival will also represent a big steppingstone...

Chicago's sonic summers are extraordinary, but this year is even more noteworthy with a revamped Chicago Jazz Festival, Spring Awakening, Pitchfork and, of course, Lollapalooza. And don't think classical is slacking, with a Ravinia "Aida."